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Supreme Court set for partial-birth abortion ruling
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WASHINGTON, Calif. — The Supreme Court said Feb. 21 that it would consider reinstating a federal ban on partial-birth abortion.
It is the first time the court has considered a federal restriction on abortion, and conservatives were jubilant at the news, coming on the first official day for Samuel Alito as a sitting Supreme Court justice.
Alito could be the deciding vote when the court decides if doctors can be jailed for performing the abortion procedure.
Jay Sekulow is chief counsel for the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, who represents members of Congress in the case. “This is the frontline abortion case in the country,” Sekulow said.
Justices split 5-4 in 2000 in striking down a state law barring the same procedure because it lacked an exception to protect the health of the mother. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who Alito replaced, was the tie-breaking vote then.
Christian and pro-life activists rushed to praise the court’s decision to review the case.
“Today's decision by the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the ban on partial birth abortion gives evidence to the fact that elections have consequences,” Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition said.
President George W. Bush had promised his conservative base in both 2000 and 2004 that his Supreme Court nominees would be conservative and he delivered on that promise.
Abortion advocates, too, recognized the significance of the decision.
“Today's action means the core principle of protecting women's health as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade is in clear and present danger,” Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told the Associated Press.
Whatever happens, the high court’s final decision will not dramatically reduce the number of abortions performed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 90 percent of abortions are performed in the first three months of pregnancy. The federal partial-birth ban has never been enforced, because it was immediately challenged in Nebraska and two other states. The case that will be heard this fall comes to the Supreme Court from Nebraska, but at least 15 other states urged the court to review the law.
The justices agreed to hear only the appeal of the Nebraska decision. The other two were at the appeals level as well, but are still working their way up to the top court—though they may eventually be folded into the Nebraska case.
EP News
Published by Keener Communications Group, March 2006
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